Reviewed by Sarah Goodman Duffy
Review Source: Teaching for Change
Book Author: TJ Klune
Spanish edition available here.
It is like being wrapped up in a big gay blanket.
— V. E. Schwab on The House in the Cerulean Sea
The House in the Cerulean Sea, TJ Klune’s breakout book, tells the story of Linus Baker, a quiet, by-the-book caseworker for the Department in Charge of Magical Youth (DICOMY). He lives alone with only his cat, Calliope, and a stack of old records to keep him company. This all changes when he is summoned by Extremely Upper Management and sent to Marsyas Island Orphanage, where six “dangerous” children reside: a gnome, a sprite, a wyvern, an unidentifiable green blob, a were-Pomeranian, and the antichrist. They are under the care of Arthur Parnasas, who Linus is tasked with determining if he is a fit guardian.
TJ Klune books all follow the same pattern of being difficult to start and then impossible to put down. He has the uncanny ability to write characters that you can’t help but love. Characters like Linus, who in his month on the island, gets the chance to know and love the children beyond what is in their files. There’s Talia, who loves gardening; Phe, who is the protege of Zoe, a sprite and the caretaker of Marsyas Island; Theodore, who loves buttons; Chauncey, who wants nothing more in the world than to be a bellhop; Sal, the bashful poet; and Lucy, who loves music made by dead people. And of course, there’s Arthur, who Linus finds himself growing closer to despite his best efforts.
Linus slowly works to unlearn the Rules and Regulations that he used to live by. In one of his later reports to DICOMY on the conditions of the island, he notes “I find our perception is colored by what we’re taught. Even as children, we’re told the world is a certain way and these are the rules.” Klune thoughtfully explores themes of marginalization and prejudice through the experiences of the Marsyas Island children, emphasizing the capacity that youth hold to make the change they want to see. This is reflected in the relationship between the Marsyas Village and the Marsyas Island inhabitants moving from hostility to coexistence. For example, Helen, the Mayor of Marsyas, and Zoe are dating by the end of the book.
The House of The Cerulean Sea proves that “a home isn’t always the house we live in. It’s also the people we choose to surround ourselves with.” The forming of found families is deeply significant to the fabric of Queer culture. It provides a familial network of support and understanding that isn’t a given in the heteronormative world we live in. In the end, Linus leaves DICOMY and his empty house to return to Marsyas Island to be with the family he found.
On the Author’s Note: Art vs the Artist
The larger conversation of whether the art can be separated from the artist can’t be resolved in one book review. That being said, I wanted to acknowledge conversations surrounding where TJ Klune drew inspiration for The House in the Cerulean Sea. On The Big Gay Fiction Podcast, Klune talked about how he had the idea after learning about the “Sixties Scoop,” which took Indigenous children from their families without their consent and placed them in foster homes with white families in order to assimilate them into Western society. This displaced over 20,000 Indigenous children in Canada. Readers criticized Klune for what they believe is the appropriation of the experience of Indigenous people for a feel good children’s story and accused him of perpetuating a white savior narrative.
However, later in the interview Klune acknowledges that as a cisgender white man, it isn’t his place to co-opt a history that wasn’t his. So instead he writes from the opposite perspective, about Linus, a “cog in a bureaucratic machine — who isn’t necessarily prejudiced” but believes in the Rules and Regulations to a fault. This is a lesson he works to unlearn throughout the book with Arthur pointing out to him: “And who said they need to be assimilated at all? Was any choice given?” Linus starts to allow himself to form his own opinions, like deeming the Marsyas Island Orphanage and Arthur Parnasas as a suitable home despite pressure to do otherwise. Moreover, there is an emphasis on allowing the children to become experts of their own experience and culture and having them share that with their family.
I can’t single handedly decide whether the impact of The House in the Cerulean Sea for the Queer community makes up for Klune’s intentions. But in terms of whether I would recommend this book as a positive and accurate representation of Queer culture, which Klune has stated is his ultimate goal as a writer, I can confidently say yes.
Sarah Goodman Duffy served as a summer 2025 intern with Teaching for Change as a rising senior at Connecticut College, where she is double majoring in educational studies and art. When she’s not working, she can usually be found at a local coffee joint, drawing people on the Metro, or reading books by or about Queer people.
Read a review of the sequel, Somewhere Beyond the Sea.
Find more recommended books on this topic on our LGBTQ+ booklist.
The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune
Published by Tor Publishing Group on March 17, 2020
Genres: LGBTQ, Science Fiction/Fantasy
Pages: 305
ISBN: 9781250217325
Review Source: Teaching for Change
Also by this author: Somewhere Beyond the Sea
Publisher's Synopsis:
A NEW YORK TIMES, USA TODAY, and WASHINGTON POST BESTSELLER!
A 2021 Alex Award winner!
The 2021 RUSA Reading List: Fantasy Winner!
An Indie Next Pick!
One of Publishers Weekly's "Most Anticipated Books of Spring 2020"
One of Book Riot’s “20 Must-Read Feel-Good Fantasies”Lambda Literary Award-winning author TJ Klune’s bestselling, breakout contemporary fantasy that's "1984 meets The Umbrella Academy with a pinch of Douglas Adams thrown in." (Gail Carriger, New York Times bestselling author of Soulless)
Linus Baker is a by-the-book case worker in the Department in Charge of Magical Youth. He's tasked with determining whether six dangerous magical children are likely to bring about the end of the world.
Arthur Parnassus is the master of the orphanage. He would do anything to keep the children safe, even if it means the world will burn. And his secrets will come to light.
The House in the Cerulean Sea is an enchanting love story, masterfully told, about the profound experience of discovering an unlikely family in an unexpected place—and realizing that family is yours.
At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
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